3 Ways to Use Video to Ignite Your Marketing Campaigns

Over the past decade, the rise of video has been dominating the digital sphere. Nowadays, video is everywhere. Users are active on social media platforms such as YouTube, and videos continue to populate our Twitter and Instagram feeds. YouTube first made its debut to the masses in the digital world back in 2005, and the platform has grown at an exponential rate ever since. As a pioneer in video streaming, YouTube gave way to other video platforms over the years, such as Vine, Instagram, and Snapchat, some of the digital world’s most used social media platforms.

With the growth of online video streaming platforms, more and more businesses are using video as a marketing tool for their campaigns. According to Hubspot, 81% of businesses use video as a marketing tool in 2018. Forbes also predicts that online content will consist of 80% video marketing by 2019. With greater access to tools and resources, such as simple and easy-to-use video editing apps and software, brands and businesses are now able to find ways to lower the cost of video production. However, it is still worth it if you can afford the high quality production.

Why You Should Use Video in Your Marketing Campaigns

Incorporating video in your marketing campaigns can help differentiate your business from your competitors. It is also an avenue for brand storytelling. Video is a form of rich media content which engages with more people compared to traditional forms of marketing, such as your regular text and static images. In today’s day and age, brands and businesses should consider using video in their marketing campaigns because there’s a high demand for video content. In other words, your consumers want to watch videos.

According to Hubspot, videos are ranked first when it comes to the type of content people want to see from a brand or business they support. This is an opportunity to inspire and appeal to the needs of your audience in a real and authentic way. Top brands and companies such as Nike, Coca Cola, Oreo, and Dove are some of the most successful when it come to using video as a tool and tactic for marketing.

3 Ways to Use Video to Ignite Your Marketing Campaigns

1. Product Videos

Creating product videos is a great way to ignite your marketing campaigns, especially if your brand or business operates in more of a niche industry. You want to educate new and potential users to help increase brand awareness. According to Forbes, 90% of consumers express that product videos directly inform their purchase decisions. With that being said, you may also want to consider creating how-to videos that are relatable to the audiences you are trying to target and reach.

Slack reflects this in their “So Yeah, We Tried Slack …” video campaign, which speaks to their audience in an authentic and humorous way.

2. User-Generated Content

User-generated video content is also a great way to ignite your marketing campaigns because it helps build brand trust. Building brand trust is difficult when your customers are relying on your word alone to sell their product. In 2018, many potential customers look for reviews before actually going to purchase your product or service. Consumers want to know whether or not products and services are reliable, and they want to ensure that others have purchased and used the product or service before they do.

For example, an increasing number of brands and companies, such as Garnier, Audible, and Olay, partner with a number influencers on YouTube and Instagram, such as Jenn Im, Claire Marshall, and LaurDIY, to create sponsored content to promote their products and services – this is also known as influencer marketing. Partnering with influencers with over hundreds of thousands of followers on social media helps businesses sell their products to engaged audiences.

Some user-generated content ideas you can try are customer product/service reviews, or influencer marketing on YouTube and Instagram.

3. Social Media

Social media is one of most powerful tools when planning your video marketing strategy, especially now that social media platforms are constantly adding new features, such as Instagram stories, and Facebook and Instagram live videos. Social media is also a quick and easy way to appeal to your audience without having to worry about your audience’s attention span.

Oreo is a prime example of a brand that successfully uses video to ignite their marketing campaigns. With over 2.5 million followers on Instagram, Oreo’s simple, yet appealing video campaigns remain fresh and innovative. They are constantly finding new and creative ways to maintain their social media presence.

Social media ideas you can try are interactive Q&A videos on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube Live, new product or service teasers, and video contests.

The Future of Video

As video continues to thrive and dominate in the digital world, it definitely has a place as a tactic of the future in marketing. We’re already continuing to see technological advancements in the complexity and quality in video. With the rise of Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 360° videos, 4K quality videos, we are definitely reaching the stage in the digital world where videos can and will continue to be a major tool to help increase brand awareness and build brand trust due to accessibility and availability to the masses.

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